Austria Travel Tips - Austria Travel Guide

Vienna is the glorious legacy of the Habsburg dynasty, which controlled much of Europe for over 600 years. Although it's full of architectural gems and has an impressive musical ancestry, a few years ago the city seemed to be the exclusive preserve of genteel old ladies whiling away their autumn years sipping coffee in Konditorei. Thankfully, in recent years, Vienna has regained its panache and verve, and has a spanking new role as Austria's ambassador in the united club of Europe. Tradition, culture and vitality now make a heady combination that even listening to the Blue Danube thirty or forty times a day can't seem to ruin.

The city's golden years as the cultural centre of Europe were in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the majestic architecture you see today is due to the efforts of Emperor Franz Joseph I, who had deep enough pockets to match his ambitious plans for a city that would reflect the power of the Habsburgs. Franz tore down a few redundant fortifications and exercise grounds surrounding the Innere Stadt and laid out the Ringstrasse between 1858 and 1865. In the decade that followed most of the impressive edifices which line this circuit began to be constructed.

The Hofburg (Imperial Palace) nearby was the home of the Habsburgs and is a monumental repository of Austria's cultural heritage. It includes the 14th-century Augustinian Church, the opulent Imperial Apartments, the Royal Chapel (where the Vienna Boy's Choir sings at Sunday mass), the Imperial Treasury (including religious relics such as one of the nails from the Crucifixion and one of the thorns from Christ's crown), the National Library, the Baroque Prunksaal hall and the fascinating Collection of Old Musical Instruments.

If you still haven't quenched your cultural thirst, the Museum of Fine Arts shows off the artwork funnelled back to Vienna by the Habsburgs. The museum is a delightful no-expense-spared work of art itself, and includes unrivalled collections of paintings by Rubens and Peter Brueghel the Elder. Don't even think about checking out everything in a single visit and try not to get neck strain staring at the superbly decorated ceilings. The Sigmund Freud Museum in the apartments where Siggi worked and lived contains his furniture, possessions, documents and photographs. Quite what the great man wanted with that terracotta male genitalia (exhibit 24) is a bit of a worry though.

Outside the city centre is the splendid Baroque Belvedere Palace built for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The upper palace is now home to the Austrian Gallery, which has among its exhibits Gustav Klimt's famous painting The Kiss. The city's other famous Baroque palace is the Schönbrunn Palace, once home to Maria Theresa, and later to Napoleon. It has an interior kitted out with Rococo excesses and contains the Mirror Room where Mozart played his first royal concert and the Napoleon Room, which strangely contains a stuffed crested lark.

Accommodation can be a nightmare for low budget travellers - especially at Easter, Christmas and between June and September - so make reservations as far ahead as possible. Staying within the Innere Stadt is convenient for sightseeing but there are no hostels in this elegant area so it ain't cheap. Hotels and pensions between the Ring and the Gürtel are better value. The area north-west of the city centre, near the university, has numerous inexpensive restaurants. The best area for a night on the town is around Ruprechtsplatz, Seitenstettengasse, Rabensteig and Salzgries in the central zone near the Danube Canal. This area has been dubbed the 'Bermuda Triangle' because drinkers disappear into its numerous pubs and clubs and become lost to the outside world.

Austria General Tips

Austria General Tips

Visiting Austria?

Visiting Austria?